


The Kindness of One

by DraconisWinters



Series: Warriors Kindness [1]
Category: LinkedUniverse - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Big Brothers, Gen, Post-Majora's Mask, The Scarf
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2020-01-07 15:05:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18413096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DraconisWinters/pseuds/DraconisWinters
Summary: Warriors would never admit it out loud if he was with the other heroes, but considering he is alone in the middle of a dark and admittedly creepy forest, he will be honest with at least himself; he is so lost.





	The Kindness of One

Warriors would never admit it out loud if he was with the other heroes, but considering he is alone in the middle of a dark and admittedly creepy forest, he will be honest with at least himself; he is so lost. Warriors was pretty sure that he had even crossed into a different Hyrule because the aura around him was just…darker, more eerie. There was a thick fog that rested over the entire forest making it almost impossible to see and Warriors flinched at every movement that wasn’t his own.

He should not have wandered off. At the rate that they have been switching across various Hyrule’s and times, Warriors would at least know where or when he is if the others were here too. Maybe it was somewhere in Legend’s. They had only briefly been to Legend’s era and that was only for the man himself to restock his items as well as time for everyone to meet his strange friend Ravio. Legend really had some weird friends-

“Navi, please come back.”

Warriors froze hearing a child’s soft voice call out from somewhere around him. The man looked around trying to locate the area of origin, but was not able to find it.

“Navi please,” The voice was begging and Warriors could hear the whimpers growing louder, “I’m sorry if I did something to make you mad, just please come back!”

Warriors’ heart hurts for this child, whoever it is. HE walks in the direction that he believes the kid to be and eventually, though the fog, can see a child curled up at the base of a tree sobbing, “Don’t leave me alone. Come back.”

The boy was clad in a bright forest green tunic and had small brown boots covering his feet. Though his face was buried in his legs and he had on a bright green hat, Warriors could tell that the child had hair as blonde as his own. As he got closer he could hear the sniffles and hushed pleas coming from the boy as he called for ‘Navi’ whoever that was.

“I’m sorry I kept letting them die, I’m sorry about the masks, just please come back, please,” He pleaded.

The boy’s voice was hoarse and soft as though he was not used to talking and those few sentences exhausted his vocal cords. Warriors couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to this child. Who died and how could they keep dying? What masks?

“Navi, I’m sorry I failed. I’m not the Hero of Time, I’m just the failure no one remembers who messed up time and time again.”

And then it all clicked. Warriors held in a gasp. This was Time. This child sitting before him sobbing and pleading to some lost friend was the Hero of Time, their leader. Their leader was strong and unmovable, he’d never let himself be seen in this state if he could help it. But then again…this isn’t the man Warrior has come to know. This is a terrified child who doesn’t want to be alone. But he’s the Hero of Time, he succeeded surely…

Then Warriors remembered. No one in Time’s Hyrule remembered him. No one remember his sacrifices, his suffering, his pain, because he had gone back to warn everyone. To stop Ganondorf’s plans from becoming a reality. And then the anger came, how could Hylia do this to a child? How old was Time when he first picked up a blade, when he killed something? The man was brought out of his dark thoughts however when the child’s sobs halted. Warriors looked back over to the kid who was staring at him.

Time’s porcelain blue eyes were staring at him with horror, bloodshot from crying and his tears had made tracks through the dirt and grim caked on his face from where ever he had been. There were dark bags under his eyes leading Warriors to believe the child hadn’t slept in a long time. His lips were chapped and cracking. From where Warriors was standing, he could see the boy’s jaw quivering while the rest of his body shook as well with fear.

Warriors realized that he probably was a hulking and terrifying figure to a crying child so he slowly but steadily went down on his knees to be more on Time’s level. AS he crawled closer to the boy, Time’s hand moved to grip the golden and crystalized handle of the sword at his side. Body still trembling, the child unsheathed the sword and stood, ready to fight Warriors. The man quickly sat on his knees and held up his hands in surrender. He was not trying to fight, he just wanted to help.

Warriors reached back to where the Knight’s sword rested on his back. He unsheathed it and tossed it aside in attempt to make his kind intentions clear. “I promise I’m a friend,” He said softly trying not to scare the boy off. Time refused to drop or loosen his grip on his sword. “Ti-Link,” Warriors said, “I want to help you. I promise I won’t hurt you-,”

“Others have made promises to me,” the boy whispered softly, voice cracking multiple times, “They lied. Why are you so different?”

“Because I understand-,”

“No you don’t!” Time exclaimed, “You don’t understand. No one understands this burden, this curse. All you can give me is sympathy and pity and I don’t want either of those!”

Warriors was about correct him but Time continued, “You don’t know what its like to have part of your life ripped away from you, to be forced to grow up in what feels like seconds, to have to defeat all of these horrific monsters than be sent back to have a ‘normal childhood’ where everything is happy! You don’t know what it’s like to wander to this forest for days searching for the only friend you had left because she flew off and you just want company only to stumble into a forsaken land, be turned into a monster, and having to repeat the same cycle of three days over and over and over-,” Time’s breathing picked up and he began hyperventilating. The child fell the ground, gripping his hair, unable to breathe properly.

Warriors rushed over to the child, “Hey, hey, its okay, its okay. Just look at me, try to follow my breathing. In…and out. In…and out.” Warriors saw Time look up at him and try to copy him, but fail as he couldn’t inhale all the way. “That’s okay, you’re okay. Just keep trying, in…and out. In…and out.” Time tried again and his eyes became for focused less panicked and wild.

Once Time’s breathing finally even out he looked down embarrassed. “Sorry,” he murmured, voice still raspy and dry.

“It’s okay and you’re right,” Warrior agreed, “I don’t understand some of the things you have been through. But I do understand being chosen by the sword-” Time looked up at him astonished. “-I know the responsibility that comes with being its wielder and I’m sorry you had to do so at such a young age.”

“But your probably a better hero than I ever was-,” Time said sadly.

“There isn’t a thing as a ‘better hero’ for the place and time of your story. You had the talent and skill to overcome the trials thrown at you-,”

“But I let them die! I let them die so many times. It was just three days, just 72 hours. I should have been able to do it earlier but I couldn’t-,” Time’s eyes started watering, “-around fifteen or so cycles in I just had to sleep and I wasted so much time, just because I was selfish. And I woke up and it was falling, just falling, consuming, consuming everything!”

“Link look at me,” Warriors insisted, and the boy looked up at him with tears slowly rolling down his reddened cheeks, “You are not selfish. You did what you could and your body can only so much before it gives out.”

Time looked away from Warriors and the man sighed, this would probably have rippling effects in the future, but right now this is what the child needed.

“You know,” Warriors begins, “I know a guy kind of like you.” Time looked up to him in confusion. “His name is Time and he had a difficult past too, a lot of bad things that he never told me-” Warriors held in a grimace when he said that “-But even with all of the difficulties he went through, he is the best leader I have ever followed.”

“Really?” Time asked hope starting to appear.

“Really.” Warriors nodded.

A smile broke out on the child’s face as Warriors continued, “He even met this wonderful woman and they are very happy together. Even if you don’t have to worry about things like that at your age.”

“I’m older than you think I am,” Time laughed.

“Your physical age,” Warriors corrected.

As Time’s laughter died off, the child let out a couple of long yawns and rubbed his eyes tiredly. “You can go to sleep if you want to,” Warriors pointed out.

“But then what if you leave to?” Time asked worried.

Warriors sighed, his absence from the others wouldn’t be taken lightly for long. But then an idea came to Warrior and he smiled. The man pulled of his scarf and placed it over the child’s head. The fabric engulfed the tiny Time and the boy looked up at him in surprise.

“But this belongs to you,” Time whispered.

“Well call it a substantial loan for an extended period of time,” Warriors said, waving off the child’s concern. “Then when you see me again, you can give it back.”

“You promise we’ll meet again?” Time asked and Warrior nodded,

“I’ve never felt more confident.”

Time nodded, trusting the man in front of him and Warriors pulled the boy close to him in a tight hug whispering, “Go ahead and rest. You have earned it Link.”

Soon enough the boy drifted off and Warriors set him down sadly. He tucked the scarf around Time tightly, in attempt to keep the child warm. “I know you don’t believe it Time, but you truly are a hero,” Warriors whispered before turning and walking away.

After wandering through the woods for a while longer, things were beginning to look familiar. He was back in Wild’s Hyrule and he could hear the others shouting for him.

“Warriors!” Hyrule.

“Hey man, where did you go!” Twilight

“I swear if you got yourself injured or killed!” Legend.

Warriors smiled before responding, “Over here!”

He could hear footsteps rushing towards him and eventually Legend came through the bushes, “Where have you been?”

“Just wandering around.”

Hyrule followed close after, took one look at Warriors and asked, “Hey, where’d your scarf go?”

Warriors shrugged, “Must have lost it.”

“Okay, no,” Legend said, “I’ve seen you throw hissy fits over that thing. You did not just lose it.”

“Maybe you should give me the benefit of the doubt, Legend,” Warriors said, turning away and walking back to the area they had set up camp.

…

Warriors woke up the next day and sat up with a yawn. He looked around but his eye was immediately drawn to a flash of blue beside him. There lied his precious scarf with a note lying on top. Warriors picked up the note and unfolded it. A smile broke out over his face as he depicted Time’s handwriting and the message:

Thank you


End file.
